Preview: 2012 MRDA Championships

By James Brains, Last updated Wed Oct 17 2012 3:54pm

BALLWIN, MO – This weekend the St. Louis GateKeepers host the second MRDA Championship in the St. Louis suburb of Ballwin, Missouri. To keep up with the expansion of the Men’s Roller Derby Association, this year’s tournament will feature the top eight teams in the currently 25-team organization. Last year, the top six took the track in Old Bethpage, NY, with the hosting New York Shock Exchange beating the Puget Sound Outcasts in the championship bout, 143-133.

Based on this season’s results, any of the top five seeds could rise up and snag the championship trophy. #5 Puget Sound and #4 Magic City play in the first round’s most intriguing bout. Both teams had minimal seasons, playing in four bouts apiece, so it is hard to say where they stack up among the MRDA’s elite. The #3 Shock Exchange are always a force to be reckoned with despite having suffered losses to the top two teams. The #2 GateKeepers only loss this season was a controversial Spring Roll bout against the Shock Exchange, which they avenged in August, 197-141, whereas top seed Your Mom romped over the competition almost all year long to jump from #7 to #1 in the organization.

Watch MRDA Champs live all weekend on DNN! First-round action begins at 9am Central on Saturday, October 20 with #1 Your Mom vs #8 Mass Malestrom; semifinals at 9am and 11am on Sunday, with the championship bout at 7pm Sunday.